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Taking hold of my personal finance by the horns! Recent Grad needs advice!

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Taking hold of my personal finance by the horns! Recent Grad needs advice!

I recentily graduated college with a Finance degree and have landed myself a job with a yearly income of 58k a year.  I've had a credit card since I was 18 (Bank of America CC) and I am 24 now.  My debt situation is/was 15k in student loans and 5k of credit card debt that as of yesterday I have paid off completely.  So my debt situation as of now is 15k worth of student loans.  My credit score is 714 (Experian) and I have had 3 30 day lates in my credit history (Last time I let my parents handle my finances, it was my mistake in the first place Smiley Sad)  Last week I applied for the AMEX Zync card and was instantly approved.  My revolving credit consist of: BofA CC that I was recently notified that I will have to pay an annual fee of 59 dollars starting in a few months, a Juniper CC that I got while I financed my macbook for college, and my newly aquired AMEX Zync.  Yesterday, I applied for the Chase - Freedom card but was not instantly approved.  Here are the questions that I would love to have your input to help me in the future.

 

I now have 3 hard inquires on my credit (This might help you answer some of my questions.)

 

  1. I am upset with BofA charging me an annual fee, so I am going to drop this card since my debt to credit ration is now completely 0 (This is my oldest card and has a 3k credit limit) - Is this a wise decision?
  2. I am going to keep the Juniper card since it has no fee's and I've had it for about 4 years and it has a credit limit of 2k. - I believe everyone will agree with this...???
  3. I plan on using my Zync for all my purchases and will be paying it off each month with ease. I was wondering, in a few years could I drop my charge card and get one of AMEX cash back cards, like the blue?  Or will cancelling a charge card affect my credit score?
  4. The Chase - Freedom card, If I do get denied do you believed I have any shot of getting a Recon or should I just cut my loses and try again in 6 months.
  5. Dealing with my student loans, I keep going back and forth if I should agressively pay these off?  As of now my min. payment is 185 and I am paying 250 a month for them.  The interest rate is 5.8% and I am not sure if I should go all out in paying off this loan or be conservative and get my liquidity up a little... I guess I can only answer this one... =)

PS.  I have been lurking this site for awhile and It has been very helpful for me.  I am a proud Zync member and I couldn't be happier.  I believe the 25 bucks will be worth it in the long run as I have officially cemented my name with AMEX in the year '11.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
tsquad131
Frequent Contributor

Re: Taking hold of my personal finance by the horns! Recent Grad needs advice!

after a year of having the zync you should have enough history with amex as long as you aren't late anymore to apply and be approved for one of their revolver cards. as for the student loan I wouldn't pay any unnecessary interest if it can be avoided by paying down as much as you can afford of your student loan till its all paid off. If the interest was still deferred I would say take your time and pay it off in full by the time the deferment period is over.
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Message 2 of 5
flapjack
Established Member

Re: Taking hold of my personal finance by the horns! Recent Grad needs advice!he

I would call BofA about the fee. If you speak to someone in their credit department and explain your situation, they may remove it. Don't waste to much time or tell to much of your story to the first CSR you speak with as they are not able to change it and they are told to drive a hard line about why it can't be removed. As far as paying off your student loan aggressively, I would advise that before you make more than the minimum payment required, you put the maximum you can in your retirement account(s), particularly enough to get any company match but anything else as well. Done wisely, your tax savings and investment returns should easily beat the interest payout on your loans already, and you'll never get a chance to make up for the years you skipped. Lastly, available credit does different things to different people and at different times. This is forward I know and I apologize if I am wrong, but perhaps you might want to see how you handle your new and existing cards before you extend your opportunities further ?

 

EX: 785 EQ: 759 TU: 760 (9/14 via MyFico)
Message 3 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Taking hold of my personal finance by the horns! Recent Grad needs advice!

Welcome and Congratulation!  That's a very nice annual income Smiley Happy

  


@Anonymous wrote:

 

  1. I am upset with BofA charging me an annual fee, so I am going to drop this card since my debt to credit ration is now completely 0 (This is my oldest card and has a 3k credit limit) - Is this a wise decision?       Yes, go for it!  I don't like and don't have cc with AF.   You can use that amount to pay your St. Loan or set aside for the rainy days.
  2. I am going to keep the Juniper card since it has no fee's and I've had it for about 4 years and it has a credit limit of 2k. - I believe everyone will agree with this...???     Sure, why not.  I love no AF cc.  Don't forget to maintain this cc.
  3. I plan on using my Zync for all my purchases and will be paying it off each month with ease. I was wondering, in a few years could I drop my charge card and get one of AMEX cash back cards, like the blue?  Or will cancelling a charge card affect my credit score?
  4. The Chase - Freedom card, If I do get denied do you believed I have any shot of getting a Recon or should I just cut my loses and try again in 6 months.
  5. Dealing with my student loans, I keep going back and forth if I should agressively pay these off?  As of now my min. payment is 185 and I am paying 250 a month for them.  The interest rate is 5.8% and I am not sure if I should go all out in paying off this loan or be conservative and get my liquidity up a little... I guess I can only answer this one... =)       If you are able to PIF early, go for it ... you will save on the interests more.

PS.  I have been lurking this site for awhile and It has been very helpful for me.  I am a proud Zync member and I couldn't be happier.  I believe the 25 bucks will be worth it in the long run as I have officially cemented my name with AMEX in the year '11.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 


 

Message 4 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Taking hold of my personal finance by the horns! Recent Grad needs advice!he

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.  Flapjack, I think you make an excellent about me slowing it down a little.  I have been doing a lot of research on credit and want to have the best credit as possible.  I have been addicted to it....  I will relax and just go with the flow and use my newly recieved Zync and have fun with it.

 

Again, I appreciate all your comments.

 

Thanks,

Ricky

Message 5 of 5
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